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La Diversità come Pilastro

People aren’t only American, Muslim, Moroccans or Catholics. They also are men and women, fathers and mothers, sons, doctors, lovers, workers, engineers, teachers, athletes, artists; they can be poor or wealthy, they might have different sexual preferences, they might have an active social life or be apathetic, they can firmly hold their beliefs or be full of doubts.

If we look closely at a mass of people gathered in a public square, we’d see all the above aspects, and many others, and complexions and forms, each part of the whole. It’s far simpler, because it’s easier and quicker, to define people by their physical feature, their skin color for instance, or to box them up in far broader categories based on nationality or religion. When somebody helps us in the moment of need, or stops so we can cross the road, their faith or the country of origin does not matter as much as their intent, what’s important is that they showed values of compassion and respect. When we don’t know enough, when we succumb to fear and allow our humanity to be exploited, then in that very moment we lose sight of our neighbor’s multifaceted identity, and we label them with simple stereotypes that gives us an easy excuse to keep a distance. Just like individuals have a unique complex identity that constantly evolves, so does society bring together the individuals’ feature and rich uniqueness, delivering dynamism and growth.

Impacted by significant migratory pressures, the economically globalized contemporary Western societies may call themselves modern only if they are able to incorporate diversities that enrich everybody’s life and promote common goals whilst respecting established rights and duties and preserving their fundamental values. L’Italia delle Cento Città (Italy of the Hundred Cities), each one with it’s own dialect and bread type, is the incontestable evidence that such a vision can be achieved.

La Diversità come Pilastro, Diversity as Pillar, brings together and symbolizes individuals’ different contributions to Society.